LOC23:18
20:18 GMT
WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (KUNA) -- The United States affirmed on Friday that
direct negotiations were the only way to accommodate the Palestinian
aspirations for a state and the desire of Israelis for security.
"Direct negotiations are the only way to accommodate both the desire of the
Israelis for security and the desires of the Palestinian people for a state,"
said Assistant Secretary of State for public diplomacy Philip Crowley in a
press briefing.
"But in order to make progress, we have to assure the leaders on both sides
that this negotiation and ultimately this agreement can meet the needs of both
sides," he added.
Crowley described the meeting between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York last Thursday as
"productive, useful, lengthy and substantive" and expanded meetings "went
through the issues that we think are central to this effort and designed to
try to help overcome the current stalemate and get the parties back into
negotiations."
"A core concern of the Israeli government and understandably so is
security, in order to advance to an agreement, an Israeli prime minister has
to be confident that an agreement will make his people more secure," he added.
Crowley further noted that "on the other side of the coin, obviously
territory is central to the Palestinian aspiration, for a state. And any
progress has to take into account the aspirations of the Palestinians to have
a state of their own, that can live in peace with Israel and other countries
in the region."
"As to the issue of settlements, our policy is well-known. The concern of
the Palestinian people and others in the region are well-known. This is
something that we discuss as part of any meeting we have with the parties," he
added.
In addition to the Palestinian Israeli track, Crowley also reiterated US
commitment to progress on the Syrian and Lebanese track.
"We continue to talk to various parties in the region, including Syria and
including Lebanon about their ideas on how to proceed," he concluded. (end)
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